Enrique "Kike" Hernandez has Been Called Up - Carl Crawford to DL

One of the players acquired over the winter as a part of the Dee Gordon trade with Miami is now in Los Angeles wearing Blue.  Congrats, Kike!  It's great to have you here.  He'll be making his Dodger debut tonight as the starting center fielder.

In a corresponding move, Carl Crawford, who came up lame during yesterday's game, will be placed on the DL with a torn oblique.  Man-O-Live!  When it rains it pours, right?  Over the past week Puig, McCarthy, Peralta, and now Crawford have gone on the disabled list.  There's no word yet on how long he'll be out, but it's likely to be at least a couple of months.

Hernandez has had a bit of a rough start in the early going with the Dodgers farm club in Oklahoma City.  He is currently slashing only .169/.219/.254.  Considering the recent machinations within the Dodgers front office that has players freely moving in-and-out of the 25-man roster there's no telling how long he'll be up with us.  Nevertheless, he is very versatile on the field and aims to be a positive piece off the bench. 

Kike had this to say on twitter:

Hello LA!! It's been way too long! 😎
— Enrique Hernandez (@kikehndez) April 28, 2015

In celebration of Hernandez's arrival to the Dodgers I made the above fantasy card for him.  I used a photograph taken by Dodger photoagrapher Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers 2015 and the 1972 Topps Baseball card design.

Below are his career stats, via Baseball-Reference:


UPDATE: Per a Dodger press release:

The Los Angeles Dodgers today placed outfielder Carl Crawford on the 15-day disabled list with a right oblique strain and recalled infielder/outfielder Kiké Hernandez (pronounced: key-que) from Triple-A Oklahoma City.

Hernandez, 23, batted .169 with two doubles, a homer and nine RBI in 16 games with Oklahoma City prior to his recall, appearing in games at shortstop (7), center field (4) and second base (3). The native of Puerto Rico tied for the club lead with six homers during Spring Training, batting .267 with two doubles and 12 RBI in 29 Cactus League games. He was acquired from the Marlins as part of a seven-player trade on Dec. 10, 2014 after seeing his first big league action last year and appearing in 42 games with Miami and Houston.

Crawford tripled in his only at-bat last night before being removed from the game in the third inning with right side tightness. He has a .245 batting average with a homer and three RBI in 15 games.

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A Bunch of Paco's Added to My Collection

I've been absent lately when it comes to sharing any new acquisitions for my collection, so here is something new.  I recently came across a small lot of autographed Paco Rodriguez card on eBay and couldn't resist making a bid.  There were four cards in total; including a chrome variation redemption card (not shown), and put in my number.  A few days later I realized I was the only one to put in a bid. For the price of about $2 a card I took them home.  Yeah! 

Paco has been quite good so far.  He's come into nine games this season, and has allowed just two hits and only one run in 4.2 innings.  Rodriguez has primarily been a situational pitcher, but I suspect he'll be called in to complete a full inning more often as the season goes on.  In the meantime, he is quickly solidifying his place in the bullpen.

At the top is a 2013 Topps Chrome auto'd card (left) and a 2013 Bowman Chrome auto'd card (right).  Below is a 2013 Topps Finest auto/ jumbo relic x-factor parallel card.

Below are the reverse of the cards.

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Blog Kiosk: 4/28/2015 - Dodger Links - Joc Pederson, Needle Nose Wright and Mike Bolsinger

Joc Pederson has just been outstanding.  He's slashing .296/.458/.556 with three home runs and five doubles at the plate.  That's not shabby for a young kid.  Best yet, he has shown that he can more than handle the center field position. 

Case in point, last night he turned a potential run scoring double off the outfield wall into a spectacular over-the-head running catch and double play.  (Watch it here)  Via Earl Bloom and Chris Haft at MLB.com:

"He hit it well," Pederson said. "Earlier in the day, we worked on angles, with [coach] Lorenzo Bundy. I kept my eye on the ball, and it worked out pretty well."

Something tells me that his numbers in Albuquerque were not some altitude-aided fluke.  That's not to say he'll be that same home run slugger, but he will certainly impress.  Via Jon Weisman at Dodger Insider:

“We just think Joc’s gonna keep improving,” manager Don Mattingly said. “He’s got a really good eye, and he’s going to strike out less as time goes on as he sees pitchers and knows how they’re attacking him and how to set himself up. I think he’s gonna get better.” 

The photo above of Joc was taken by Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers 2015.  Go here to check out more pics by him from yesterday.  Below are some links to check out:

• Via WM Akers at Vice Sports, "The Forgotten Men Who Broke Baseball's Color Line With Jackie Robinson."  Here's a fantastic bio on former Dodger prospect, Negro League ace pitcher and Robinson roommate John "Needle Nose" Wright.
• Thanks for the memories, Xavier!  Via Steve Adams at MLB Trade Rumors, "Rays Acquire Xavier Cedeno From Dodgers."
• Via Jon Weisman at Dodger Insider, "Brandon McCarthy speaks about torn UCL."

“For the next couple of hours, I’ll keep talking it through and I’ll talk to the doc when he gets here,” McCarthy said this afternoon, “but it certainly (points) in one direction, and I don’t want to be one of those guys who plays out the string for a few months, only to waste everybody’s time.”

• Via Eric Stephen at True Blue LA, "Carl Crawford leaves game in 3rd with tightness in right side."

"He has some tightness in his right side. We'll just have to see overnight," Mattingly said. "Tightness in the right side usually sounds like [an oblique], but I don't want to be the doctor.

• Via Craig Edwards at Fan Graphs, "Mike Bolsinger to the Rescue."

Bolsinger is not going to provide the production the Dodgers thought they were going to get from Brandon McCarthy, but he could provide above replacement level pitching until reinforcements arrive or perhaps even hold down the fifth spot all season. 

• Kudos to Orioles COO John P. Angelos for stepping up.  Via Cindy Boren at the Washington Post, "Son of Orioles owner Peter Angelos tweets perspective on Freddie Gray protests."  Unfortunately, this all got lost in the ensuing disturbances around Baltimore.

“The innocent working families of all backgrounds whose lives and dreams have been cut short by excessive violence, surveillance, and other abuses of the Bill of Rights by government pay the true price, and ultimate price, and one that far exceeds the importances of any kids’ game played tonight, or ever, at Camden Yards. We need to keep in mind people are suffering and dying around the U.S., and while we are thankful no one was injured at Camden Yards, there is a far bigger picture for poor Americans in Baltimore and everywhere who don’t have jobs and are losing economic civil and legal rights, and this makes inconvenience at a ballgame irrelevant in light of the needless suffering government is inflicting upon ordinary Americans.”

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